AuthorTopic: Books (Read 29456 times)

Finally received 'Who I Am' after a long delay and quite a few angry emails to BookDepository and even though I like it, I was disappointed by a few things:

-those spiritual descriptions are very, very annoying. At first I looked at them in a symbolic way and didn't pay much attention, but the whole "I saw the devil and he told me to stop drinking/I was making love to Meher Baba on his bed (wtf)" got very tedious after a while. He keeps coming back to these things and it's worse each time.

-until the page in which Keith died, I seriously got the impression that he hated the guy. Not once does he mention something about his drumming being fantastic or his unmatched sense of humour. Most of the times he seems annoyed by Keith, which I am sure was true at times, but come on, I can't believe he hasn't got any great memories with him as well. Roger on the other hand, gets praise EVERYWHERE: for his singing, for his stage presence, for his acting etc.

-from page 355: "I hadn't touched alcohol for two months, but I needed help to break my dependence on prescription drugs and heroin". Heroin?! He made it pretty clear that he was addicted to cocaine by the time, but he didn't mention heroin at all before. I realise this is no big deal, but it just struck me as weird. A heroin addiction is just not something you forget to mention.

-maybe it's just me here, but I am still baffled by the whole Lifehouse - Who's Next story. After his breakdown, things were starting to get better. The band resumed working on the Lifehouse songs. Then all of a sudden, they release Who's Next with only a few of those songs. Pete hated the cover, the album name and probably the record itself as well. It just doesn't make any sense. The record company released it without Pete's approvement perhaps? Can they even do that? If so, why didn't he say so? (in the book). Perhaps someone can explain this one to me...

Upon further "research", it seems that most Who fans are disappointed by the book mainly because it doesn't really get into details about any particular event and because few facts shared were unknown.

Here are some funny quotes I found on a Who forum:

"I did learn a few new things. Like the all the stuff about the sea scouts."

"Well....I learned alot about boats."

"I must say this about Pete....he's a sh*t driver."

Also, as a side note, apparently the original book was 1000 pages and had to be cut down. That may be the reason for the lack of details, and perhaps more interesting, obscure facts.

Interesting review of Who I Am, Ovi. I had to laugh on reading that the original manuscript was 1,000 pages. That sounds so like Pete Townshend. That is interesting that the book implies that he didn't care too much for Keith; I'd read that the reason for his downward spiral in the early 80s was because of Keith's death. I know I read that somewhere; I just can't remember which book it was.

I actually tucked this one under the bed after starting it, because I'm still so upset that he and Karen divorced after so many years, and I wasn't sure I wanted to learn the reason why (yes, I'm a very invested fan, LOL), but I'm going to pull it out and finish.

Dear Boy -- Tony Fletcher's bio of Keith -- was truly un-put-downable. Learned a lot! If you haven't read that one yet, I highly recommend it.

nimrod

IMO James was the best British writer of the supernatural, sadly he died not long ago. Ive read most of his books and find once you start you cant put them down, This is a ghost story, Im not ususally a great fan of hauntings type things but as its him I thought Id give him a go, Its brilliant of course Also recommend 'Moon' by the same author, in fact.....all of them

I somehow missed that last post. I will have to see if I can find any James Herbert books at the library -- they sound good. I love ghost stories.

I'm reading Shoe Addicts Anonymous by Beth Harbison (I've been keeping an eye out for her new one that you mentioned, Kelley!). That plus the second installment, Secrets of a Shoe Addict, have had me literally laughing out loud -- to the point where my kids have wanted to know what was so funny.

I love escapist, "fluffy" fiction sometimes, as a reprieve from the scholarly editing I do and the stress of day-to-day life.

I love escapist, "fluffy" fiction sometimes, as a reprieve from the scholarly editing I do and the stress of day-to-day life.

There's nothing wrong with that! I'm reading the latest "Miss Julia" book, by Ann B. Ross. They are so funny! Miss Julia is a rather proper Southern lady. She discovers in the first book that her recently deceased but not mourned husband had a small son when the son and his mother show up at her door. She rises above the ramifications of that shock, taking care of them both. "Miss Julia Stir Up Trouble" is number 14 in the series but I still find them hilarious.

I'll have to get back into the Beth Harbison books. So many books, so little time!

Wow, that's a lot of endnotes! I like that, though; nothing frustrates me more than not having a specific fact documented with a footnote, endnote, citation, etc. Maybe it's because I work in scientific publications, where everything has to have a source listed.

Wow, that's a lot of endnotes! I like that, though; nothing frustrates me more than not having a specific fact documented with a footnote, endnote, citation, etc. Maybe it's because I work in scientific publications, where everything has to have a source listed.

I'll have to start saving for that book. It sounds fantastic.

And Volume One only covers through 1962 and promises to have additional information about the sacking of Pete Best. I was actually fascinated by the pre-1963 chapters of Lewisohn's Complete Beatles Chronicle. It really showed me another world that the Beatles lived in early on. I'm really looking forward to this book.

I just pre-ordered Volume 1 on Amazon. Ironically, the publication date of October 29 will be my first (non)anniversary after the divorce, so I decided to treat myself. (I can justify ANY book purchase, ha ha.)

I just pre-ordered Volume 1 on Amazon. Ironically, the publication date of October 29 will be my first (non)anniversary after the divorce, so I decided to treat myself. (I can justify ANY book purchase, ha ha.)

Thanks for the heads-up about this; I was unaware of it!

Good for you Kathy; you deserve it! I'm looking forward to these books as well. In a world full of bogus Beatles "experts" Lewisohn stand alone as one I really trust.

I just pre-ordered Volume 1 on Amazon. Ironically, the publication date of October 29 will be my first (non)anniversary after the divorce, so I decided to treat myself. (I can justify ANY book purchase, ha ha.)

Thanks for the heads-up about this; I was unaware of it!

There is a lot of buzz about this. There are two threads with a total of over 60 pages over at the Hoffman Forums.